C. H. Shoemaker to S. A. Williams on Dust Collecting at Asbestos, Quebec (1932)

A two-page letter of December 24, 1932, from C. H. Shoemaker, vice president of Canadian Johns-Manville at Asbestos, Quebec, answering S. A. Williams's memo of December 20. Since September 1931 nothing had been added to the dust equipment in the factory, "chiefly because the equipment there meets all practical requirements," and the Quebec Board of Health's medical officers had given it "a clear ticket." In the mills, improvements were under way, and Shoemaker expected a further program to bring an "80% reduction of the dust in the Mills."

What it shows

Workers in the cement plant and dust shed wore masks, but "The Mill operators, however, do not find respirators practicable": the mill dust, Shoemaker writes, was less irritating and more fibrous, and clogged the filters. The men in the fiber mills at Asbestos, Quebec, generally went without respirators.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

C.H. Shoemaker (CJM VP, Asbestos), 12/24/32, responds to Williams' memorandum of 12/20/32. States that since September, 1931, no new dust collection equipment has been installed in the factory, chiefly because the equipment there meets "all practical requirements." Inspection by the medical officers of the Quebec Board of Health "indicates 'a clear ticket'." Describes some very important dust collection improvements initiated in the mills. Shoemaker states that if the prospective dust control program is carried out, it will result in an 80% reduction in the dust in the mills. States that workmen in the Cement plant and Dust Shed wear the hubble mask, and electricians wear this mask when blowing motors. However, mill operators, "do not find respirators practicable. The dust in the mills is evidently less irritating and is more fibrous than in the first named locations, resulting in less need for a respirator and more trouble with the filter clogging when a respirator is used."

Related documents

• S. A. Williams to J-M Plant Managers Asking for a Report on Dust Control (1932)